#but i like how each episode touches on the theme of deep abiding love

[harurio]

guardian ep5

@oneiro-nautical i hope you are having a lovely day

shades of the distinctly green bathwater in secret of the valet

'move out of the staff dormitories' 1) the staff live in dorms? 2) i sense an opportunity for cohabitation/forced proximity..........

lin jing is so funny i love him

oh okay shen wei has a house. that uni must pay him real good

this is just like on supernatural

the butler did it.

get that old man's ass shen wei!!! (nonsexual)

phone convo! in spirit they are both lying in bed kicking their feet twirling their hair. i can tell. i miss having a landline my parents had one in our old apartment and i still know its number by heart

two babies in this photo plus one grumpy old man

okay i will not laugh, i won't, but the kid turning from a poorly animated water figure into just some dude and the old guy whooshing around like the flash is kinda getting me

i'm sorry i know and respect that they're trying to hit these emotional beats but something about it just isn't working for me this ep i'm struggling so hard idk why it's so funny

YES almighty zhao yunlan step in and save us from the rest of this fight scene

hiiiiiii shen wei we have not seen you in foreverrrrr

ooh cool first glimpse of the underworld. looks kinda like the burial mounds in the untamed except lower budget. love the color scheme

zhao yunlan shuffle-jogging along is kinda cute

shen wei your sleeve garters are KILLING ME you're such a fucking nerd (salivating) (who said that)

(zhao yunlan said it that's who)

now look at this.

a baby

hmmm a locked room mystery! exciting! i like how they're overlapping mysteries in each episode, keeps us on our toes

i have romance on the brain, i keep seeing opportunities that a bl would take and run with (caretaking, cohabitation, etc) and that's not what this story is primarily about, it's a supernatural/crime drama with a homoerotic subplot. so i gotta be patient to see more weilan interactions. i'm excited to see how the pieces of the big story start coming together though!

[ebaeschnbliah]

VATICAN  CAMEOS

________________________________________________________________

‘Vatican Cameos’ is a well known phrase in Sherlock BBC. It’ s Sherlock’s secret code word to warn against some imminent life-threatening danger. The code is used three times in total: 

First by Sherlock in ASIB when he is about to open Irene’s safe where she keeps her camera phone, guarded by ‘explosives’.

Second by Sherlock in TSOT when he is about to connect the last dots regarding the Mayfly Man case, the invisible man with the invisible knife, and what this means for Major Sholto.

Third by John in TFP when he learns that Eurus is able to ‘reprogramme’ people. Sherlock doesn’t pay attention to him though. He has just played Irene’s theme on his violin and is about to touch the wall of glass which seperates him from Eurus.

The word ‘cameo’ has different meanings. It can be a piece of jewellery, like a gem or small medallion, often with a profiled head carved in stone or some other hard material. The word is also used for small literary or filmic pieces or small theatrical roles. It looks like both meanings - ‘carved in stone’ as well as ‘small guest appearance’ - could apply to the wording ‘Vatican Cameos’ in Sherlock BBC, in a metaphorical reading of the story.

TBC below the cut …

Two restaurants lit by fire and flame

At Angelo’s  ...

In the unaired PILOT/ASIP, Sherlock and John wait at Angelo’s restaurant for serial killer Hope. It’s the first time both men work together on a case. From the fireless mantlepiece right next to their candlelit table, a silent watcher observes the beginning of their relationship. It’s the bust of a pope (x x).

ANGELO: Anything on the menu, whatever you want, free. All on the house, you and your date. …  Anything on the menu, I cook it for you myself.

A pope, head of the Vatican and supreme keeper of an unrelenting belief, is present at the first ‘date’ of two men, is forced to watch silently, how they fall in love with each other … while a living, breathing ‘angel’ isn’t only ready to serve them food and drink … no, the ‘angel’ even offers to cook the meal himself for free … everything they desire. 

The ‘angel’, literally, lights the fire between Sherlock and John with the remark, that this would be much more romantic for a first date. The whole scene seems to be drenched in a yellow light.

Maybe also worth noticing ... the bust of the pope has been put on the same place at the mantlepiece as the skull in 221b. 

At the Cross Keys Inn ...

Sherlock and John have rooms at the Cross Keys Inn near Baskerville. They meet in front of the blazing fireplace after Sherlock’s first encounter with the monstrous hound in Dewer’s Hollow. A heart adorns the mantlepiece right over the flickering flames.

The owners of the Cross Keys Inn are Billy and Gary, a gay couple. They have a dog which they couldn’t bring themselves to put down. A sign with ‘vacancies’ written on it, is placed above the statue of a hound. In the pigeonholes beneath, some lovely old fashioned keys seem only to wait for their task to open doors into equally lovely rooms. Bottles of wine are placed at both sides of the keys, the hound and the sign. 

The name of the restaurant - Cross Keys - is a deliberate choice by the creators of this story (X) and it seems they really knew quite well what they were doing by choosing precisely this name. The image of two crossed keys features most prominently in the coat of arms of the Vatican, crowned by the papal tiara. This turns the Cross Keys Inn into another short ‘cameo appearance’ of the Vatican. The ‘crossed keys’ - the keys of heaven - have been given to a gay couple that provides food and drink and rooms for those, who want to fulfill those desires. 

It isn’t new that these two characters are mirrors for Sherlock and John. (Follow the dog, Part 1 by @sagestreet​ ) Their names speak for themselves as well:

Billy is short for William, like William Sherlock Scott Holmes

Gary contains the germanic element ‘ger’ meaning ‘spear’

The ‘crossed keys’ of the Vatican

The flag of the Vatican, the papal colours, are yellow and white. They mirror the colours of the keys. The silver key symbolizes the pope's earthly power and the gold one represents god's divine power. The mechanisms of the keys (the bit/beard that unlocks) is turned up towards heaven, their grips are facing downward to show that they were given into the hands of the pope by god. 

In heraldry ...

gold (Or) is mostly depicted as yellow and linked to the sun and faith, representd by the topaz (aspects linked to John and his mirrors)

silver (Argent) is mostly depicted as white and linked to the moon and purity, represented by the pearl (aspects linked to Sherlock and his mirrors)

The Vatican’s crossed keys represent the metaphorical keys of the office of Saint Peter, also known as the ‘keys of heaven’. They are the symbol of papal authority. Peter recived the keys and alongside with them, the power of binding and loosing was also commited to him.  (Sources: X X )

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven,”  (Matthew 16:19:)

“What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder” 

This phrase is very well known from wedding ceremonies. Marriage, also called ‘the holy matrimony’, is one of the seven sacraments in catholic church. It is a convenant by which two people establish between themselves a partnership of the whole life. And to this day, the Vatican decides which type of partnership is legal and blessed and which one is a sin and damned. A view, carved in stone and unchangeble, it seems.

Faith, Hope and Love

Those three aspects, closely related to deep emotions, are also known as the three theological virtues. In christianity they are associated with the ‘salvation resulting from the grace of god’ (x).

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.  

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13)

The three virtues - hope, faith and love - are also an important part of the rosary prayer. The first three Hail Mary’s at the beginning of the litany are dedicated to them by ending each one of the verses with … ‘and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, …

... who increases faith in us.’

... who strengthens hope in us.’

... who ignites love in us.’

The creators of Sherlock BBC took a rather special and original way to include those three virtues and Mary’s pregnancy into their story. 

HOPE - is the name of the serial killer in ASIP, who offers two sorts of pills (chemistry), a good one and a bad one. One of his victims is the pink lady who had once been in ‘good hope’. But then her daughter Rachel was stillborn. Rachel is the code word to track down Hope. 

FAITH - is the name of the serial killer’s daughter in TLD (who’s also linked to chemistry). She appears in two different versions, both presented as mirrors for John. It turns out that in one of the two versions she is Eurus in disguise ... the ‘other one’ ... Sherlock’s long locked- up emotinal part. 

LOVE - is used in its Latin translation ‘AMO’ (I love) as code name for the person who is Mycroft’s - the brains - superior. This code word is also used by a second person, Vivian Norbury, to influence the Tiblisi hostage incident - the ultimate cause for the ‘death’ of Rosamunnd Mary and the eventual ‘birth’ of Mary Morstan, which will leads to the birth of baby Rosamund Mary.

Three different stories and yet, each one is about ‘TWO’ (even ‘I love’ appears as AMO & AMMO) and the concepts of choice, death and rebirth. All of it linked to the love story of two men.

The yellow thread

The colour yellow runs through the story told in Sherlock BBC, from the first series to the (by now) last: 

This thread starts with Sherlock’s and John’s first ‘date’ at Angelo’s. The whole scene is drenched in yellow. 

A secret code of ancient cyphers, sprayed in yellow paint, leads to the Yellow Dragon Circus. 

Golden cats and big ‘yellow’ felines - lions - roam the story. 

Yellow is the colour of the smiley face on the wall of the 221b living room. 

There’s an assassin who carries a yellow ladder and a yellow tool case with a gun in it. 

A bright yellow mask has been placed inside a box, alongside with a train, a phone, nicotin patches and a note. 

The main colour of the wedding ... so much yellow. It’s the wedding that leads Sherlock to a revolutionary revelation and to a love deduction. 

A canary trainer, a trainer of yellow birds, turns out to be the killer. 

The Norbury case from canon, known as the case of the ‘yellow face’, plays a vital role in an episode. 

The finish of a race is marked with a bright yellow band that floats slowly to the ground while a serial killer passes as winner. 

Yellow is the colour of the sun, of fire and flames. 

Yellowbeard ….

Yellow and white, gold and silver - are the colours of the Vatican. Colours that represent unchangeable tradition, stubborn persistance and inflexibility. Sherlock BBC links those colours stongly to John and Sherlock. The conductor of light, the fierce lion on the one hand and and the man in the moon, the virgin in the white sheet on the other hand.

A pope, carved in stone, is forced to witness how two men fall in love. The crossed keys of heaven are given into the hands of a loving gay couple. The christian virtues of hope, faith and love become a core element in that story of change and rebirth. What might the colour yellow stand for in Sherlock BBC? 

What if it becomes the colour of victory for a much too long forbidden love? 

Speculative addition:  nuns versus Dracula

In case Dracula BBC is somehow related to Sherlock BBC, which role might have been given to the nuns? As catholic nuns, will they turn out to be  another ‘vatican cameo’? After all, nuns do have great significance in Sherlock BBC since the beginning. There are the ‘headless nuns’ from PILOT and TSOT and furthermore, sister is just another word for nun. I’ve tried to follow the trail of those nuns/sisers in ‘The Roads we walk have demons beneath’.

Inspired by the comments on this post some time ago and the last bit by the new trailer for Dracula BBC.  I leave you to your own deductions. 

For more ‘vatican cameos’ try   A CHRISTMAS TALE

December, 2019

[wessonba]

First, let me say that 5.01 “The Fiery Cross” was a masterful mix of old and new.  It was recognizably based on the book but told with enough new and yet plausible surprises to keep me glued to my screen. It totally could have happened that way.  And, although I love Diana Gabaldon, and her gathering, I’m relieved they didn’t feel the need to replicate it in this episode. Instead, they gave us the wedding of Roger and Bree. It was a wonderful and joyous reunion filled with the people I have missed during this long drought.  As each face was shown on the screen, I found myself smiling somewhat tearfully.  I really do love this story and these characters.

As usual, when I sit down to write after an episode, a blow by blow recap of what happened isn’t on my mind.  There are lots of talented bloggers out there who do a great job looking at EVERTHING! I admire their ability to do so, but that just isn’t how my brain works.  I find myself thinking about one or two things that stood out for me or an overall mood or theme for each episode.  This week I couldn’t stop thinking about Jamie.  The Jamie I saw on my screen this week was the charming, complicated, yet simple man I have been longing to see.  As he stood before Claire wearing his plaid and his father’s coat, it felt like he had finally come into his own; laird, proud Scot, husband, father, grandfather.  He is a man and “that is no small thing”.  His tear-filled eyes throughout this episode revealed his soul and I found myself proud to “know” such a man.

Jamie and Bree

Matt Roberts writes with such love for this story and its characters.  He holds all the previous episodes in mind when he creates and tends to the small and endearing details.  In this episode, he called us back to the three conditions Jamie made when he agrees to marry Claire; a dress, a priest, and a ring.   We are treated to Jamie trying his best to make sure his daughter’s wedding day is the best he can make it, just like he tried for her mother. I was charmed by Jamie making sure Bree had her “modern” wedding tradition of something old, something new (fairly raw whiskey, ouch), something borrowed and something blue and even a sixpence for her shoe. His obvious fatherly concern is compounded by the fact that their relationship is still so new.  He just got her back and now he has to give her away.

As he turns the corner and sees Bree in her wedding dress, you can chase the emotions across his face; awe, pride, gratefulness, and finally a need to hold it all in check for this beloved and found daughter.  He could never have dreamed of placing his mother’s pearls on his daughter’s neck. He is able to pass on a family heirloom to his own flesh and blood. She is his blessing.  She is the embodiment of the fact that his sacrifices were not in vain.  He is moved to tears by her confession that she needs him and will always be his wee girl and the gift of her knowing and repeating the Fraser clan motto, “Je Suis Prest”.

Jamie and Claire

Throughout the episode, we are reminded of Jamie and Claire’s deep, passionate, and abiding love for one another.  The looks that pass between each, the unspoken language of couples who are so close they know what the other thinks and feels, added so much to this episode. Once again, the writers or actors took care to be consistent in how this couple interacts with each other like the “let’s do this” nod when Jamie goes off to do something dangerous.  But, Lord the looks between Jamie and Claire at the wedding.  He looks around at all he has wrought, the family he is surrounded by, and then back to Claire. Who knows.  He is overwhelmed by all he has that he thought he had lost forever.  He is a laird, a father, a…husband.  I am constantly reminded of all they had been denied and wonder if Jamie feels like Job who was blessed in his latter days and given twice as much as had been taken from him.

Jamie and the Governor

I teach literature. When I help students analyze Shakespeare, we talk about foils.  Governor Tyron was perfectly menacing and a perfect foil for Jamie. You couldn’t help but compare the two.  Their motivations, their values, couldn’t be more opposite.  The Governor has the care of a land and its people.  Jamie has the care of a land and its people. The Governor is motivated by power and his own importance.  Murtaugh has made him look a fool and must be punished publicly to restore Tyron’s pride and preserve the perception of his power.  Jamie is motivated by love, honor, and duty.  The knowledge of the future lays heavy on him.  He knows who wins the war, but first, you must survive the battle.  Instinctively he knows the best way to protect his men and their families is to assure their loyalty to him.  He creates a clan from the remnants of their memories and Scottish pride.  When he called Roger “the son of my house” and Fergus “the son of his heart”, he gave them a public affirmation of his acceptance and his love. Pledging their loyalty to him on bended knee with holy iron was one of the most moving callbacks of the whole series.  I loved Roger’s initial confusion then Jamie’s surprise as the scholar moved from academic to real with alacrity.

Jamie and Murtagh

We began and ended the episode with these two.  Murtagh pledges an oath to Jamie, a promise he gave his mother to always follow him and have his back.  He gently reaches out and takes wee Jamie’s hand in reassurance. Men in this time are definitely defined by their word and once given it is a serious and binding commitment. Murtagh pledged his life to Jamie.  We have seen him keep that oath.  We saw Jamie’s joy at being reunited with his godfather last season. However, the real depth of feeling Jamie has for Murtagh could only be guessed at… until this moment.  How much that oath meant to Jamie and his love for his godfather was revealed in this final scene. To save him, Jamie must release Murtagh from his oath and send him away.   In true Jamie and Murtagh fashion, no gushy words are spoken in their final goodbye. Jamie is tearful when he tells him to go and attempts to smile as he tells him to make himself scarce.  Murtagh’s response is to gently reach out and touch Jamie reassuringly, thinking first of Jamie’s feelings and needs always.  He leaves and Jamie then collapses in grief emitting gut-wrenching sobs. I think having loved and lost is painful, but to gain that love back and have to let it go again is unbearable.  Jamie is feeling fear as he never has before and that is saying a lot.  He has a lot to lose and will fight to the death to preserve all that he loves.

This episode and Jamie’s tears caused me to reflect on my own life. I thought of how much more easily my husband and I are moved to tears.  I believe, like Jamie, our age is a factor.  We have a lifetime of painful memories and struggles, things that we have overcome to get where we are now.  And, I often find I am now moved to tears by the simplest of things like watching our youngest granddaughters ride a pony or their obvious pride in catching a fish all by themselves, or watching the teens in all of their various sports and activities.or their inexplicable joy in a pair of gifted footed pajamas!  Sometimes watching the looks of pride on our own children’s faces as they look upon their children moves me to tears and I will look at my husband and find that he too is tearful. Like Jamie and Claire, understanding, gratitude, and love will wordlessly pass between us and end in a brief kiss and a tremulous smile.

      ≈

The Jamie of the Ridge … a reflection on Outlander 5.01 “The Fiery Cross” First, let me say that 5.01 "The Fiery Cross" was a masterful mix of old and new.